Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence.

Mindfulness is being aware of what is happening right now, without wishing it were different.

Do everything with a mind that lets go. Don't accept praise or gain or anything else. If you let go a little, you will have a little peace; if you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

We need to learn to let our emotions pass through us like waves, without getting caught in their undertow.

The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.

The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.

The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.

Meditation is not about achieving anything. It's about letting go of everything.

When we understand others, we understand ourselves. When we love others, we love ourselves.

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

The practice of meditation is like learning to play an instrument - it takes patience, regular practice, and a gentle touch.

Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.

The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included.

The cave I live in is empty and so is my mind. I live simply and at ease.

The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.

Meditation is not just about sitting quietly, it's about transforming the mind.

The victorious ones have said that emptiness is the relinquishing of all views. Those who are possessed of the view of emptiness are said to be incurable.

Our practice cannot be perfect, but without being discouraged by this, we should continue it. This is the secret of practice.

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.

The nature of mind is the unity of awareness and emptiness.

In the monastery of your body, the monk of your mind must stay in retreat.

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?